Church of Our Lady before Týn — Attraction in Prague

The second most iconic structure in the Old Town, next to the Old Town Astronomical Clock! Beautiful gothic spired church (Notice one of the spires is slimmer than the other?). The Church of the Mother of God before Týn (in Czech Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem, also Týnský chrám ("Týn Church") or just Týn), or Church of Our Lady before Týn, is a Gothic church and a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic. It has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. The church's two towers are 80 m high, and each tower's spire is topped by eight smaller spires in two layers of four..

In the 11th century, the Old Town plaza area was occupied by a Romanesque church, which was built for foreign merchants coming to the nearby Týn Courtyard.[1] It was replaced by an early Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn in 1256. The church became the center of the German inhabitants of Prague's Old Town.[2] Construction of the present church began in the 14th century. The church was designed in the late Gothic style under the influence of Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler. By the beginning of the 15th century, construction was almost complete; only the towers, the gable and roof were missing. The church was controlled by Hussites for two centuries, including John of Rokycan, future archbishop of Prague, who became the church's vicar in 1427. The building was completed in the 1450s, while the gable and northern tower were completed shortly thereafter during the reign of George of Poděbrady (1453–1471). His sculpture was placed on the gable, below a huge golden chalice, the symbol of the Hussites. The southern tower was not completed until 1511, under architect Matěj Rejsek.

The lost Battle of White Mountain (1620) ushered in an era of harsh recatholicisation (part of the Counter-Reformation). Consequently, the sculptures of "heretic king" George of Poděbrady and the chalice were removed in 1626 and replaced by a sculpture of the Virgin Mary, featuring a giant halo made by melting down the chalice. In 1679 the church was struck by lightning, and the subsequent fire heavily damaged the old vault, which was later replaced by a lower Baroque vault.

Renovation works carried out in 1876–1895 were later reversed during extensive exterior renovation works in the years 1973–1995. Interior renovation is still...

During the Hussite period, Tyn Church was ‘nationalized’ and given to the Utraquist denomination. This resulted in it being baroquely decorated in contrast to being rebuilt. The first phase of this project occurred between the years 1653 to 1674 beginning with a late renaissance prayer hall designed by Carlo Lurago. Although the Utraquists failed to complete the second phase of their work in which they planned to pull the gothic structure down in its entirety, they managed to destroy a large amount of highly valuable medieval sculpture and sundry other fixtures. By the time of the church’s return to the Catholics in 1623, its interior was in critical state. An important historical reference is being made by an unknown artist in a sketch of Prague dating between the years 1360 and 1362, which shows completed double choir with its vaults and a fabric dome already under construction. According to this sketch, this work would have been completed by around 1350. This later was contrasted by another sketch which dates back to 1848, showing a completed dome which is clearly that of the small baroque one built in 1674. This sketch provides additional evidence that building work at Tyn carried right through the period from original gothic design until the early baroque. The Tyn church is lacking any firm foundations to give us a clear and precise date of origin, as architecture historian Titus Burckhardt states "The origin of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn is obscure. {_} we find the word "origo" being used in several documents by 1339. This suggests that building work had been started by this date. The idea that construction started around 1385 is generally considered to be a result of surviving architectural features which are misunderstood and therefore incorrectly dated. The church has survived 700 years and has been through several architectural and decorative changes of style affecting both the interior and exterior, yet most of these do not detract from the simple strength of the building which remains Gothic of the 14th and...

Iconic church in the Prague skyline and seen pretty much everywhere in the city. Long queues if you're visiting.

a Gothic church and a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, Czech Republic. It has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. The church's two towers are 80 m high, and each tower's spire is topped by eight smaller spires in two layers of four.

the 11th century, the Old Town plaza area was occupied by a Romanesque church, which was built for foreign merchants coming to the nearby Týn Courtyard. It was replaced by an early Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn in 1256. Construction of the present church began in the 14th century. The church was designed in the late Gothic style under the influence of Matthias of Arras and later Peter Parler. By the beginning of the 15th century, construction was almost complete; only the towers, the gable and roof were missing. The church was controlled by Hussites for two centuries, including John of Rokycan, future archbishop of Prague, who became the church's vicar in 1427. The building was completed in the 1450s, while the gable and northern tower were completed shortly thereafter during the reign of George of Poděbrady (1453–1471). His sculpture was placed on the gable, below a huge golden chalice, the symbol of the Hussites. The southern tower was not completed until 1511, under architect Matěj Rejsek.

The lost Battle of White Mountain (1620) ushered in an era of harsh recatholicisation (part of the Counter-Reformation). Consequently, the sculptures of "heretic king" George of Poděbrady and the chalice were removed in 1626 and replaced by a sculpture of the Virgin Mary, featuring a giant halo made by melting down the chalice. In 1679 the church was struck by lightning, and the subsequent fire heavily damaged the old vault, which was later replaced by a lower Baroque vault.

Renovation works carried out in 1876–1895 were later reversed during extensive exterior renovation works in the years 1973–1995. Interior renovation is still...